Cam means for knitting machine



IN VEN TOR. FREDERIGK Gwiasmecn A TTORNE Y May 20, 1958 F. c. WIESINGER CAM MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 1o, 195e l Unite 2,835,129 Patented May 20, y1958 CAM MEANS Fok KNITTING MACHINE v Frederick C. Wiesinger, Feasterville, Pa., assignor to Wildman Jacquard Co., Norristown, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 10, 1956, Serial'No. 596,870 's claims. (Cl. 66-50) This invention relates to improvements in cam means for knitting machines and, more particularly, to a unitary base, camand cam position changing means for ready attachment to and detachment from a cam cylinder or other mounting means at the machine.

It is a general object of the invention to devise a unitary cam means which shall elfect all functions required, which may serve for several sizes of machines and which may be attached or detached as a unit Without disturbing any other parts.

A further object is that of devising a cam unit of the type described which shall be adapted to control of cams mounted at different levels by a very slight change in the basic unit.,

Another object is that of devising a cam unit in which the very effective four armed star wheel shall be usable to change the cam position from one extreme to the other at each 90 movement of the wheel.

It is a further object to provide a cam unit which may be used at several feeds about a multifeed machine and in which a slight change may be made to adapt it to work upon double butted jacks and to affect upper butts -at one feed and lower butts at another feed.

Other objects lof the invention will become apparent from the following disclosure.

In multifeed knitting machines, a great number of cams are employed to control needles, jacks and other instrumentalities and among these cams at each feed is a movable raise cam usually positioned low with respect to the needle and cam cylinders to act upon jack or other butts at that location. These have been constructed as a part of the cam cylinder and general cam unit itself and have not been readily removed, altered, adapted to dilferent purposes nor interchangeable from one size of machine to another.

According to the invention herein described and claimed, a unit attachable and detachable serves to raise jacks and their needles or other instrumentalities and such unit may be used on machines of widely dilerent diameters. It also makes possible the usel of a simple track cam with one raised and one lower position for each revolution, but controlled from a four armed star wheel so that no double contacting control is needed.

The motion from the star'wheel is conveyed through gearing to the turning cam with such ratio that two revolutions of the latter result for each complete turn of the star wheel, thus a 90 movement is all that is required to change the position of the raise cam.

The invention will be described in detailY by reference to one specific embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying figures of drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view of the unit as seen from the inside of the cylinder.

Fig. 2 is a section taken in the vertical center plane of the unit.

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the device with the cover removed.

Fig. 4 is a detailview, of the star wheel.

Now referring to the figures, the unit is shown attached to a part 10 of a cam cylinder of a knitting machine such as that of United States Patent No. 2,082,127. A needle vcylinder 11, only a small section of which is shown, is

slotted as is the usual practice and has jacks 12 slidably retained in these slots. Jacks 12 have one or more butts 13 and are used to selector otherwise control their needles (not shown).

The cam unit includes a mounting base 14 which serves to enclose several parts and to support for sliding or rotary movement as the case may be, the various elements associated therewith. This base has ears 15 and 16 through which screws. 17 and 18 are passed to attach the unit to the cam cylinder 10. A cover 19 is removably fixed to the bottom of the base.

At the inner end (that next the needle cylinder) a post 20 is vertically slidable in a channel 21. The inner face of the post is slabbed off as at 22 and channel 21 is also of a section to correspond. The post is kept from rotating by a guard cam 23 xed to the inner, top part of the base and by pin 33 fitted into a slot. At its lower part the post is formed with a keyway 24 and has fixed toit a raise cam 25. This cam has a spline or key 26 which engages in the keyway to prevent movement of the cam which is otherwise retained in position by a screw 27.

This post and cam 25 are raised and lowered by a turning cam 28 which constitutes a means defining a cam groove 29 all of which is rotatable on a shaft 30 the ends 31 and 32 of which are borne in bearings formed in base 14 and plate or cover 19. The cam groove acts on the post through a follower pin 33 which is pressed into the post. The post is also slabbed olf at 34 to present a shoulder which strikes plate 19 and thus limits movement downwardly. Upward movement is limited as the pin 33 strikes the top end or face of the counterborel into which the turning cam ts. At each half turn of the cam 28 the post and raise cam are either elevated or lowered depending upon that part of the groove 29 which is at the time acting upon the follower 33.

To rotate cam 28 a shaft 35, star wheel 36 and certain gears to be described are actuated according to a pattern requirement. The shaft 35 rotates in a bearing in the base and in an extension or bushing 37 formed as a part of the base or attached thereto. This extension actually ts into a counterbored hole in the ring 10 and locates the unit. At its lower end the shaft has keyed to it a gear 38 which meshes with an intermittent gear 39 'in turn engaged with a gear 40 which is either an integral part of or keyed to the shaft 30. The gear 38 has twice vas many teeth as gear 40. The base 14 is counterbored to take these gears and when cover 19 is in place the axial position of all parts is established and maintained.

Intermediate gear 39 is at one end of a stub shaft 41 which is borne in a bearing 42 in the base.

To stop and lock the parts in position at the end of each movement of the star wheel, a collar 43 is keyed or otherwise held in place on shaft 35 and has four indentations 44 properly spaced to be engaged by opposed spring pressed balls 45 and 46. The latter are carried in holes drilled laterally in base 14 in line with the center of shaft 35 and springs 47 and 48 are maintained under tension by the plates 49 and 50 attached by screws as shown.

The star wheel is fixed to the end of shaft 35 by keying and by a snap ring. It is adapted to be struck by a bar or the like which is positioned to affect it according to pattern requirements and to move it 90 or from one point of being locked by the spring 'pressed balls to the next.

In practice, the cam 25 is raised or lowered as required\ and either permits butts 13 to pass virtually unaffected or raises them to a more elevated pathway as shown in Fig. 1. Jacks may have a highand a low butt alternating so that at one knittingstation a cam-25 may aiect Ihigh butts4 only, while another unit.at .an adjacent Vfeed may engageonly low butts, e. g., `as when knitting interlock fabric.

To accomplish .thatunits are:made with long and short posts., That described to this point is of the short post type, but a longer post v20 with cam 25.r positioned lower may be used.in which event anadded guide member 51 is used. This guide is bolted to the plate 19 andsteadies thelower end of the extended .post so that the cam is held rigidly in proper position to affect the butts without danger of breaking them.

While one embodiment ofthe invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventiveconcept may be carried out in a number of ways. Thisinvention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise .details de scribed, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of, the invention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

l. For a multifeed knitting machine having a. slotted needle bed and a cam `carrier one of whichis relatively movable with respect to. theother andinstrumentalities having butts slidable in slots in said needle bed,.a.unitary cam means which comprisesa mounting .base for..attachment to the cam carrier, a post-slidably retained at one end of said base having a butt engaging cam xedrto its extending end, a track cam rotatably carriedwithin said base adjacent said post, a. follower xedto said post and engaged within said track cam, a shaft rotatably mounted in said base, a starwheel on saidshaft; means for temporarily stopping ,said shaft at4 spaced angular points in its rotation, and gearing between said shaftand turning cam for imparting movements of the former to the latter.

2. For amultifeed knitting machine having aslotted needle cylinder and a cam, cylinder oneof which is-relatively movable with respect to the other and instrumentalities having butts slidable inslots in said needle cylinder, a unitary cam means which comprises a mounting base for attachmentto the cam cylinder, a post slidablyretained at one end of said base having a butt engaging. cam fixed to its extending end, a track cam rotatably carried within said base adjacent the post, a follower pin.in said post engaged within said track cam, a shaft rotatably mounted at the opposite end of said base, a star wheel at one end ofsaid shaft, means effective releasably to retain the shaft in a set position.andgearingbetween said shaft and turning cam for imparting the rotational movements thereof to the turning cam and thereby moving the post and butt engaging cam to different positions.

3. For a multifeed knitting machine having a slotted needle cylinder and a cam cylinder one of which is relatively movable with respect to the other and instrumentalities having butts slidable in slots in said needle cylinder, a unitaryycam means which comprises a mounting base for attachment to the cam cylinder, a post slidably re- `tainedat one -end-of said base having a butt engaging cam fixed to its" extending end, a track cam rotatably carried within said base adjacent the post, a follower pin in said post engaged within said track cam, a shaft rotatably mounted at the opposite end of said base, a starwheel at one end of said shaft, means effective releasably to retain the shaft in a set position and gearing between said shaft and turning cam which includes gears of a.sizeqto,double the angular rotation of the cam as comparedto that of the shaft for imparting the rotational movementsof the shaft'andstar wheel to the turning cam ,thereby-to move the post and cam attached thereto.

4. For a multifeed knitting machine having a slotted needlefcylinder and acam cylinder one of which is relavtivelyfmovable with respect to the other and instrumentalitieshaving butts. slidable in slots in said needle cylinder, avunitarfy` cam `means which comprises a mounting base for attachment to the cam cylinder, a post slidably retained at ,one end of said base having a butt engaging camiixed,` to its-,extending.end, a track cam rotatably carriedwithin said' baseadjacent the post, a follower pin in said post engaged within said track cam, a shaft ro.- tatablyvmounted at the'opposite end of said base, a star wheel at 'one end of said shaft, means effective releasably to, retain the-4 shaft in a setposition and gearing between said shaft and turning cam which includes a gear on each, that.onsaid shaftl having twice as many teeth as the gear; onsaiditurning cam, and an intermediate gear between and intermeshed with those gears above mentioned.

5. Mechanism asdened in-claim 2 wherein the means for,releasably retaining the shaft in a set position cornprises means rotatable with the shaft and having spaced indentationsfand a'spring pressed ball engageable Within said indentations.

6. 4Mechanism asV defined in claim 2 wherein additional guide;means -is provided for the lower end of said post.

References. Citedin the le of this patent `UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,743,595 Wiesinger May 1, 1956 

